From Coding Bootcamp Scholarships to Coding Bootcamp Loans: How to Pay for Your Program

By Rachel Seitz

Coding bootcamps can be an important step in helping you reach your dream career — just ask any of our student success stories, like David Sudia, Luis Rocha, or Zarela Graves. But before you can get yourself into the classroom and elbows-deep in new web development concepts, you have to figure out one thing: how to pay for your coding bootcamp. Luckily there are several options out there, from scholarships to coding bootcamps loans like those offered by Climb Credit. To help prospective students get a starting-off point in their search for available payment methods, we’ve put together the following list to give you more information about the different ways you can pay for a coding bootcamp. Click on each method (or keep scrolling down) to learn more!

The first step you’ll want to take, once you’re admitted and have made any possible deposits, is to look into scholarship options. Check your school’s website or talk to a representative to learn about available scholarships. Oftentimes, coding bootcamps will have scholarships open to their students, or you might be able to find third-party scholarships online that can go towards tuition or living expenses.

Have you built up enough savings to cover the entire program cost? You might pay the tuition yourself upfront. Of course, you’ll have to take a couple other factors into account — will you have enough left over for bills and other living expenses? Do you anticipate any future purchases you’ll need to make before your savings begin to build again? Not having to worry about future payments or interest is great, but you’ll want to make sure you’ll still be able to live comfortably.

In addition to scholarships, some coding bootcamp programs offer tuition payment plans. This way, students can make smaller payments over a period of time, if they don’t have the full amount available upfront. You won’t have to worry about interest, but they do span a shorter timeframe — you’ll pay it off quicker and without interest, but you will have higher monthly payments.

If you’re currently employed but are looking for additional training to increase your skills, consider a possible reimbursement program through your work. Sometimes, employers will pay tuition for their employees looking to increase their skills — ask your work if they have any programs in place that reimburse tuition costs.

If you’ve built up enough credit to get a card with a high limit, credit cards are another option. Just bear in mind, though, that you’ll most likely have a very high interest rate or even an annual fee — and if you don’t pay it off every month, your debt will really pile up. If you do decide to use a credit card, some companies might give you a special introductory rate for the first year if you open a new card with them, or you can try negotiating down the rate on your current card.

Before doing so, though, you should fully evaluate all your other options. Pay special attention to interest rates, as student loans (from any lender) will generally have a significantly lower interest rate than what you’d pay for a past due balance on a credit card.

Finally, if you’re still trying to figure out how to pay for your coding bootcamp, you might also have the option to take out a student loan. Most coding bootcamps aren’t open to federal student loans. However, you can apply for a personal loan — and, many coding bootcamps partner with specific lenders to offer their students financing. For example, Climb Credit works with several coding bootcamps, after evaluating their quality, and provides student loans to attend their programs.

Curious to see if your school works with Climb for financing? Click the button below to see our partner schools!

*All outcomes information has been collected by Climb on a good-faith-efforts basis, however, this information relies on inputs beyond Climb's ability to test or control. Accordingly, Climb makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of this information and this information should not be relied on in making a decision whether or not to attend a course at the above-referenced entity. Schools do not endorse loans originated by Climb InvestCo, LLC, and Climb InvestCo, LLC is not affiliated with any school.